This invention relates to the field of network analysis, and in particular to a graphic user interface that facilitates an understanding of the cause of delays within a network-based application, based on a hierarchical organization and presentation of timing information related to the application.
The capabilities of network analysis tools continue to increase, as the need for such tools increase in this age of virtually continuous communication, and communication expectations. The demand for efficient and effective communications is fueled by the increasing availability of network-enabled applications. Not only must a communication system provide efficient and reliable links between and among nodes, it must also provide for the efficient and reliable operation of the more popular applications on the network.
In like manner, the demand for applications that run efficiently in a network environment is also increasing. Application developers need to take ‘network effects’ into account when developing or improving an application, to assure that the application runs efficiently in a ‘real’ environment.
As the availability of information from network analysis tools increases, however, the ability of a network manager or application developer to effectively access and use this information tends to decrease. A network manager or application developer may not be aware of the entire range of capabilities of a particular tool. In many instances, a particular user may not use the same vocabulary that the provider of the tool uses, and significant amounts of time can be wasted merely searching for a particular differently-named feature. Additionally, even when the desired information is found, it is often difficult to determine which “next” information set to review, to further isolate a particular problem or investigation. And, if this “next” information is presented in a different context than the currently viewed information, the context-shift may also tend to distract and/or confuse the user.
It is an objective of this invention to provide a method and system that facilitates the analysis of timing information related to network-based applications. It is a further objective to provide an easy to use graphic interface for controlling and displaying timing information relating to network-based applications.
These objectives, and others, are achieved by a method and system that provides a graphic user interface that facilitates the analysis of timing parameters related to network-based applications in a hierarchical manner. At the top level of the hierarchy, the user is presented a summary of the delays incurred while running an application, or while simulating the running of an application, organized by delay categories, including processing delays at each node, as well as propagation delays at each link between nodes. The interface enables a user to “drill down” into lower levels of the timing information hierarchy by ‘clicking’ on currently displayed information. The information is presented in a form most appropriate to the level of analysis. The presentation forms include, for example, pie-charts, multi-variable timing diagrams (in both absolute and relative forms), data exchange charts, and so on, and ‘zoom’ capabilities are provided as appropriate to the particular display form.
Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate similar or corresponding features or functions. The drawings are included for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.